Refusal to make a statement: remember the context – Education Law Blog

Posted February 5th, 2013 in appeals, education, local government, news, special educational needs, tribunals by sally

“A short recent decision of the Upper Tribunal (JS v Worcestershire County Council [2012] UKUT 451 (AAC)) has emphasised the importance, when assessing a child’s special educational needs (‘SENs’), of considering the context in which he or she is performing.”

Full story

Education Law Blog, 4th february 2013

Source: www.education11kbw.com

When a deficiency makes no difference – NearlyLegal

Posted February 4th, 2013 in homelessness, housing, local government, news by sally

“The question for the Court of Appeal in this second appeal from a homeless appeal, was ‘How should the courts deal with a plainly deficient homelessness decision when the deficiency has had no adverse consequences for the applicant?’. The issue being the effect of the lack of a ‘minded to’ letter requesting submissions under Regulation 8(2) Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Review Procedures) Regulations 1999. As we’ll see, the Court of Appeal agrees on the result, but not on the way of getting to it.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 3rd February 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Ibrahim v Wandsworth London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Posted February 1st, 2013 in homelessness, housing, law reports, local government by sally

Ibrahim v Wandsworth London Borough Council: [2013] EWCA Civ 20;   [2013] WLR (D)  38

“A local authority reviewer’s duty under regulation 8(2) of the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Review Procedures) Regulations 1999, to invite representations from the applicant where the reviewer was minded to make a decision against the interests of the applicant despite there being a deficiency in the local authority’s original decision, was not engaged where the deficiency was not the subject of any complaint by the applicant on the review and had been neither upheld nor decided upon by the reviewer.”

WLR Daily, 30th January 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Judge says £420,000 racism claim can stand, after 13 years of ‘Dickensian’ wrangling – Daily Telegraph

“A race equality campaigner who won £420,000 compensation after a council-funded anti-racism group turned her down for a job has emerged victorious from a “Dickensian” court battle – at the ultimate expense of the public purse.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 29th January 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Ordinary residence and local authority and NHS services – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted January 28th, 2013 in domicile, health, local government, news by sally

“There are two questions about residence:

1. Ordinary residence: Which public body is responsible for providing services?
2. Right of residence: Does the person’s residence and status in the UK give them a legal right to access public services?”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 24th January 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Snelling and another v Burstow Parish Council – WLR Daily

Posted January 28th, 2013 in law reports, local government, sale of land by sally

Snelling and another v Burstow Parish Council [2013] EWHC 46 (Ch); [2013] WLR (D) 27

Garden allotments which came under the management of the parish council by virtue of section 33(4) of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 were intended to be governed exclusively by the powers set out in section 26 and onwards of that Act. Accordingly, the parish council’s power to sell the allotments was the power conferred by section 32 of the 1908 Act, subject to obtaining the consent of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925, and not the power under section 27 of the Commons Act 1876.

WLR Daily, 24th January 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Ministers consider clampdown on ‘industrial users’ of Freedom of Information – BBC News

Posted January 24th, 2013 in freedom of information, local government, news by sally

“The government is considering how to curb repetitive and overly expensive Freedom of Information requests, a justice minister has said.”

Full story

BBC News, 24th January 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ faces judicial review over outsourcing – The Guardian

“The ‘easyCouncil’ model of no-frills local services is set to go on trial this spring after the High Court announced it will review a £320m services contract due to be outsourced by the Conservative-controlled London Borough of Barnet.”

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Wrong priorities – NearlyLegal

Posted January 21st, 2013 in complaints, housing, local government, maladministration, news, ombudsmen by sally

“Every now and again, there is a Local Government Ombudsman report that seems to go beyond individual instances of maladministration and instead capture something of the zeitgeist. The LGO decision summarised here may well be one of the latter (certainly the Guardian thinks so), as arguably what it shows is a Local Authority prioritising its own administrative concerns over its legal duties in both its policy and the operation of policy. There is also a routine failure to ask the kind of questions that might have meant it had to do more. This on top of a series of administrative failures.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 20th January 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Public sector equality duty – planning permission for school – Education Law Blog

Posted January 18th, 2013 in education, equality, local government, news, planning by sally

“In R. (on the application of Coleman) v Barnet LBC [2012] EWHC 3725 (Admin) , the High Court has held that the local authority had discharged its public sector equality duty (under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010) when granting planning permission for the development of a school on land on which a garden centre had been situated.”

Full story

Education Law Blog, 15th January 2013

Source: www.education11kbw.com

What a religious discrimination ruling means for local government – The Guardian

“Councils can expect the backing of the legal system if they insist that employees conduct civil partnerships.”

Full story

The Guardian, 16th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Council to sue three of its own members in slur row – BBC News

Posted January 11th, 2013 in defamation, electronic mail, local government, news by sally

“A Conservative-controlled council is to sue three of its own members claiming they have damaged its reputation.”

Full story

BBC News, 11th January 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

British Humanist Association and another v Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council (Secretary of State for Education intervening) – WLR Daily

British Humanist Association and another v Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council (Secretary of State for Education intervening) : [2012] EWHC 3622 (Admin);   [2012] WLR (D)  386

“The obligation on a local authority to invite proposals to establish academies under section 6A of the Education Act 2006, as amended, was triggered if a local authority thought there was a need to establish a new school in their area. It was implicit in the scheme of Part 2 of the 2006 Act that there was a distinction between the concept of a “need”, which imported a sense of compelling requirement to establish a new school under section 6A, and a more general assessment by a local authority whether it might be beneficial for a new school to be established.”

WLR Daily, 14th December 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Request for information – NearlyLegal

Posted December 20th, 2012 in appeals, housing, human rights, local government, news, succession by sally

“There is a rather odd case note on Lawtel on a High Court appeal of a dismissed defence to possession following an apparently failed succession…
Evans v Brent London Borough Council QB (Ramsey J) 18/12/2012 [note of extempore judgment on Lawtel].”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 19th December 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Dale Farm Travellers face eviction again – The Guardian

Posted December 20th, 2012 in appeals, local government, news, planning, repossession, travellers by sally

“Travellers living at the side of the road near the former Dale Farm site face being evicted for a second time after Basildon council, in Essex, voted to take ‘direct action’ to remove the families who remain.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

SEN Update – 11 KBW

“This paper considers developments in relation to the law on Special Educational Needs over the last year. It will address three main areas:
(1) recent SEN cases;
(2) practice and procedure issues;
(3) the Children and Families Bill.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, November 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com

Academies in court: recent case law – 11 KBW

“This paper concentrates on three recent cases concerning different aspects of the emerging law on Academies:
(1) Consultation on Academy conversions under s.5 Academies Act 2010 (‘the 2010
Act’);
(2) The extent of the obligation on Academies (both pre and post 2010 Act) to admit
children with a statement of Special Educational Needs (‘SSEN’); and
(3) The new Academy ‘presumption’ in s.6A of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, 4th December 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com

What Barnet’s judicial review tells us about the future of outsourcing – The Guardian

“Legal process will provide a chance for the courts to consider to what extent councils should consult with constituents.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

British Humanist Association v LB Richmond and ors [2012] EWHC 3622 (Admin) – Education Law Blog

Posted December 17th, 2012 in Christianity, education, judicial review, local government, news, school admissions by sally

“In this judgment (handed down on 14 December 2012), Sales J has rejected a challenge to the decision of the London Borough of Richmond accepting proposals from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster for the establishment of two voluntary-aided Roman Catholic schools (1 primary, 1 secondary) in Twickenham.”

Full story

Education Law Blog, 17th December 2012

Source: www.education11kbw.com

ASB and Possession – NearlyLegal

“Birmingham CC v Ashton is a case which illustrates the difficulty that judges face when they are invited to make possession orders on the grounds of nuisance and anti-social behaviour against tenants with mental health problems.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 16th December 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk